Great Li Martial God

At the sight, Li Musheng reached out through the air and caught the unconscious Cloud Immortal’s delicate frame before it could fall.

In the same motion, he flicked out a thread of aura into her body, suppressing the decaying, deathly energy that had been rising within her.

As the deathly aura receded, the Cloud Immortal’s consciousness gradually returned, though her face remained ghostly pale and her entire frame appeared extraordinarily weak.

She opened her eyes slightly, gazing at Li Musheng before her with what seemed like tremendous effort, and forced a faintly beautiful, sorrowful smile onto her face, saying softly, ”Your Highness... that Yun’er could see Your Highness one last time before dying is more than enough to satisfy me.”

At those words, Li Musheng’s brow furrowed slightly. Just then, Cang Yinyue and Shen Anran, who had been standing outside the room, suddenly stepped through the door.

”Your Highness, why don’t we let us escort this young lady back to her family?”

Shen Anran’s eyes were fixed on the Cloud Immortal before Li Musheng, looking like a candle flickering in the wind. Even though this woman’s delicate, sickly appearance was undeniably pitiable, her instincts as a woman told her that something was definitely wrong with her.

Though she and Cang Yinyue had witnessed everything that happened in the room, and Li Musheng’s examination of her body with his aura had revealed nothing unusual, this woman’s sudden appearance and the way she had immediately clung to Li Musheng made her true intentions, hidden beneath that harmless, delicate exterior, seem obvious to Shen Anran.

At this point, Cang Yinyue hesitated briefly before speaking up as well, ”If Your Highness isn’t sure how to handle this young lady, why not let us take care of her instead?”

At those words, Li Musheng glanced at the Cloud Immortal before him, thought it over, and ultimately gave a nod.

He could sense that today, both Shen Anran and Cang Yinyue were behaving somewhat differently than usual, as though guarding something precious.

Even so, Li Musheng didn’t consider himself the type to be fickle or easily distracted by new interests. And so, though this devoted admirer before him held him in such deep esteem, he couldn’t neglect one for the other and risk hurting Shen Anran and Cang Yinyue’s feelings.

With that thought, Li Musheng flicked another thread of martial aura into the Cloud Immortal’s body and said, ”Yun’er, I’ve suppressed the deathly energy within you for now. There shouldn’t be any immediate danger to your life in the short term.”

”As for whether you choose to stay or leave from here, that decision is entirely yours to make.”

At those words, a flicker of something unusual passed through the eyes of the visibly weakened Cloud Immortal, though she quickly composed herself and gazed at Li Musheng with eyes full of tender affection, saying, ”Naturally, Yun’er wishes to stay by Your Highness’s side... but...”

At this point, the Cloud Immortal paused briefly before continuing softly, ”Before that, Yun’er wishes to return home to see her father one last time. Only then could I have peace of mind to spend my remaining time by Your Highness’s side.”

As she said this, the Cloud Immortal’s eyes reddened and grew moist, clearly the picture of a devoted daughter unwilling to part from her aged father.

”Of course, that’s no problem at all. I’ll have someone escort you there shortly.”

Li Musheng gave a nod, showing no intention of refusing this devoted admirer’s request.

He then summoned Hidden Kill Pavilion assassins to escort the visibly weakened Cloud Immortal away from the residence.

Shen Anran and Cang Yinyue, watching Li Musheng handle the matter this way, remained silent throughout, and only once the Cloud Immortal had left the residence did Shen Anran approach Li Musheng and say quietly, ”Your Highness, I believe there’s something wrong with this young woman.”

At those words, Li Musheng looked at Cang Yinyue, and saw her give a slight nod as well.

He then turned his gaze toward the direction the Cloud Immortal had departed, rubbing his chin, and said, ”In truth, I’ve had a similar feeling myself.”

At those words, both Shen Anran and Cang Yinyue’s eyes lit up, and they immediately asked, ”Your Highness, did you perhaps sense something unusual about her?”

But Li Musheng shook his head and said, ”Not exactly. Even so, I can sense that this Yun’er’s intentions go beyond simply wanting to stay by my side. She... wants me far too badly.”

At those words, both Cang Yinyue and Shen Anran went visibly blank, momentarily at a loss for words.

In fact, they both began to wonder whether the problem they had been referring to and the problem Li Musheng had just described were even the same problem at all.

Even so, Li Musheng had no intention of continuing this particular discussion any further.

Having a devoted admirer come to visit him, holding him in such high regard, had left him in reasonably good spirits, and he had no desire to entertain overly suspicious theories about the whole affair.

After all, dwelling on such things served little purpose. No scheme, whatever it might be, could possibly result in his death, so he might as well think of everything in the most positive light possible and simply enjoy the sensation of being admired and adored.

...

At the same time, escorted by the Hidden Kill Pavilion assassins, the Cloud Immortal, having climbed back into her carriage, found her previously pale, weakened expression instantly hardening the moment she stepped inside, turning extremely grave.

At this point, the Cloud Immortal showed not a trace of the delicate, vulnerable manner she had displayed before Li Musheng. She immediately settled into a cross-legged posture, focusing her mind, and hastily examined the state of her own meridians and core.

Before long, the Cloud Immortal’s expression suddenly grew visibly unpleasant.

Because at this moment, the Cloud Immortal could clearly perceive that the thread of aura Li Musheng had injected into her body was now enveloping her entire meridian system and core.

While this had indeed managed to lock down the decaying, deathly energy within her, it had also, at the same time, effectively sealed off her meridians and core entirely.

If she wished to restore her former martial cultivation, she would first need to break through the aura Li Musheng had left behind.

But the Cloud Immortal understood perfectly well just how formidable Li Musheng’s martial aura truly was, having been left thoroughly shaken by it herself.

”Had I known this would happen, I wouldn’t have put on such an act. If I had quit while I was ahead, I wouldn’t have ended up in this impossible situation now.”

A look of frustration crossed the Cloud Immortal’s eyes, but what was done was done, and there was no opportunity to start over now.

What’s more, Li Musheng had proven far more difficult to handle than she had anticipated. After all, the appearance and figure of those two young women beside him were, in truth, no less impressive than her own.

This meant that Li Musheng’s standards had been cultivated to be rather exacting, and unless she deployed every trick at her disposal, she genuinely wouldn’t be able to easily win over this young demon lord who had captured her interest so thoroughly.

With that thought, the Cloud Immortal immediately instructed the woman driving the carriage to head for the restaurant where the Earth Guide Old Ancestor was staying.

As for the Hidden Kill Pavilion assassins around them, she paid them no mind whatsoever. What mattered most to her right now was obtaining the Earth Guide Old Ancestor’s assistance.

Otherwise, she might genuinely end up as a permanently crippled invalid, incapable of ever restoring her martial cultivation.

Before long, the carriage carrying the Cloud Immortal came to a stop before the restaurant.

The Hidden Kill Pavilion assassins hidden nearby watched the Cloud Immortal enter the second floor of the restaurant, where a pale-faced, heavyset old man came out to receive her, and detected nothing out of the ordinary.